"Because the accumulation of toxic proteins such as beta amyloid and tau in the brain are associated with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers have speculated that impairment of the glymphatic system due to disrupted sleep could be a driver of the disease," the article says.

Another novel study from URMC linked sleep and microglia cells, which play a role in connections between nerve cells, fighting infections and repairing damage. The study indicates that the signals in our brain that modulate the sleep and awake state also act as a switch that turns the immune system on and off.

"This work suggests that the enhanced remodeling of neural circuits and repair of lesions during sleep may be mediated in part by the ability of microglia to dynamically interact with the brain," said Rianne Stowell, PhD, a postdoctoral associate at URMC and first author of the paper.

Findings suggest that sleep therapy or other methods to boost quality of sleep for at-risk populations may be a potential clinical approach for treatment, a topic that will be discussed in detail at the 2020 Collaboration Cures meeting this November.

The American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating physicians and other health care professionals on the safe and effective application of integrative medicine.